Milk-pasteurizing apparatus.



N6. 656,766. Patented Aug. 2a, |900. F. v. GIFFnnn.

. MILK PASTEUHIZING APPARATUS.

(Applicxaxafm led Sept. 11, 1899.)

2 Sheets/*Sheet l.

(No Model.)

fr 6 .La

No. 656,786. Patented Aug. 28, |900.

F. V. GIFFORD. MILK PASTEUBIZING APPARATUS.

(Application led Sept. 11, 1899.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(no model.)

. 65mm@ gy Mmm TH: Nonms PETERS ce.. prune-Lum),4 wAsmNs-roN. u. c.

uitten STATES PATENT Oraties.

FRANK V. GIFFORD, OF NIAGARA FALLS, NEV YORK.

MILK-PASTEURlZlNG APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters latent No. 656,786, dated August28, 19'00.

' Applicant fina september 11,1899. staunt. 730,067. cromata.)

To @ZZ whom it 'may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK V. GIFFORD, a citizen of the United States,residing at Niagara Falls, in the county lof Niagara and State of NewYork, have invented new and useful Improvements in lJlilk-PasteurizingApparatus, of which thefollowing is a speciiication.

This invention relates to iu-apparatus for sterilizing or pasteurizingmilk.

One of the objects of my invention is the construction of a compactapparatus of this kind which is free from cavities in Which im-`purities are liable to lodge and which is easily accessible for cleaningpurposes.

Another object of the invention is to provide an efiicient apparatus inwhich all portions of the milk are subjected to a uniform moist heat toprevent scumming of the same and in which the temperature of the milk isgradually raised to the necessary degree to destroy all disease-breedinggerms, so as to obviate curdling or souring of the milk,whicl1 is liableto occur when the same is subjected to sudden changes of temperature.

In the accompanying drawings, consisting of two sheets, Figure l is aVertical section of my improved apparatus in line l l, Fig. 2. Fig. 2 isa top plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is a top plan view thereof With thecover removed. Fig. 4 is a horizontal section in line 4 4, Fig. l, on areduced scale. Fig. 5 is an enlarged side elevation, partly in section,of the supply-tanks of the apparatus. Fig. 6 is a front elevation ofsaid tanks. Fig. 7 is a fragmentary vertical section of the apparatus,showing the dam located near the discharge end of the spiralmilk-trough.

Like letters of reference refer to like parts in the several figures.

The pan or vat in which the milk is sterilized consists of a spiraltrough, channel, or passa-ge A, which is open at its top and closed atits bottom and sides. This channel receives the milk at its inner orcentral portion and discharges the same at its peripheral or outer end,Where it is provided with a delivery-cock a. `In order to cause the milkto flow slowly toward the discharge end of the trough, the bottom of thetrough is uniformly and gentlyinclined from its inner to its outer end.

i B is a horizontal heating-chamber arranged below the spiral trough A,and O is a water chamber or bath interposed between the heating-chamberand the bottom of the milktrough for preventing scorching of the milk.The milk-trough `is inclosed by a cylindrical casing D, ,whichpreferably rests loosely on a metallic horizontal plate D', which formsthe Vbottom ofthe heating-chamber B. This plate is supported on anupright cylindrical.

base Dzand in turn supports the superposed parts of the apparatus. Thebottom plate Dis provided with an upwardly-projecting rim (l, into whichthe casing D fits snugly, as shownin Fig. l. The casing D is provided ata short distance below the bottom of the milk-trough With a metallicdiaphragm or bottom E, which forms the bottom of the Water-chamber O andthe top of the heatingchamber B. '[he trough Ais supported above thediaphragm E byblocks e or other, suitable means. As shown, the casing Dforms the upright walls ofthe Water and heating chambers. The chamber Bmay be heated by any suitable means; but I prefer to employ one or moreoil-lamps Fof any ordinary construction, the chimneys f of which arefitted in or pass through openings formed inthe bottom of theheating-chamber, as shown inFig. 4.

,The closed base Dzis provided with Aone or `more draft-openings cl andwith hand-holes d', closed by doors cl2, through which access4 tion frompassing directly to the chimney and compel the same to circulate aroundthe entire chamber before leaving the sa1ne,th`ereby` retarding their`escapeand heatingall portions of the superposed water-chamber O. Forthis purpose the partitions H Hl are pref- IOO erably concentric witheach other,and the opening h ofthe outer partition is located on itheside of the heating-chamber opposite that Fig. 3 and by full lines inFig. 4, so that the temperature is lowest under the inlet end of thetrough and gradually increases toward the discharge end thereof, thusavoiding sudden heating of the milk from the lowest to the highesttemperature, which would be liable to cause curdling or souring of themilk.

The spiral wall which forms the milk-trough A is preferably hollow, asshown at i, and its upper end is closed,while its lower end opens intothe water-chamber C, so that the hot water in said chamber is allowed torise into the hollow walls of the trough, thereby heating not only thebottom of the channel, but

.also its sides, and effecting a quicker and more thorough and uniformheating of the milk.

In order to effectually utilize the heat in the chamber B, thepartitions or baflie-walls H H are made hollow and open at their upperends into the water-chamber C, as shown at h2 in Fig. l, so that thewater iills the hollow partitions and becomes heated by contacttherewith. For the same purpose the lower portion of the wall of thecasing D is made double or hollow, as shown aty in Figs. l and 7, sothat the water is exposed to the heated outer walls of theheating-chamber B.

The outermost convolution of the spiral trough A is preferably tapereddownwardly, so as to increase the water-space between the same and thesurrounding easing D, as shown in Fig. 1. rlhe chamber C is suppliedwith water through a central feed-pipe K, which extends upwardly from anopening in the bottom of the milk-trough and surrounds the .chimney G,as shown in Figs. l, 2, and 3. The chimney is suiiciently smaller thanthe feed-pipe to leave an intervening water-space between the pipes.This feed-pipe is filled to a level above the top of the milkftrough, sothat the hollow walls of the trough always remain iilled with water. Thewater-chamber is provided with a valve Za for draining off its contentsfrom time to time. In order to render the outline of the'spiralmilk-trou gh as nearly circular as practicable,the walls of the troughare tapered laterally toward both ends, as shown in Fig. 3, and for thepurpose ofpreventing undue narrowing of the extreme inner portion of thetrough the feed-pipe K is offset or arranged eccentrically around thecentral chimney G, as shown.

L is a tight removable cover which is applied to the open upper end ofthe milktrou gh forexcludin g the atmosphere from themilkwhilepasteurizingthesame. Thiscover ture.

has a central opening for the passage of the feed-pipe K and the chimneyG.

m is an upright wall or dam arranged across the discharge portion of thespiral milk-trough A 011 the inner side of the discharge-faucet ct. Thisdam extends nearly to the top of the trough and allows only the hotupper or surface layer of milk, which overflows the dam, to escape fromthe trough, thereby detaining the milk in the trough untilthe same isheated to the desired tempera- The dam is removably arranged in uprightways ml, secured to the walls of the trough, so that the same can bewithdrawn for 'discharging the final portion of the milk supplied to thetrough. An additional removable dam m2 is preferably arranged in thetrough-say in its second turn from the center, as shown. This dam shouldbe somewhat lower than the dam m near the outlet of the trough.

The milk to be heated may be supplied to the trough A directly from acomparativelylarge tank N; but it is desirable to supply the milk undera small head or pressure, in order to prevent agitation and tco rapid aflow of the milk through the trough. For this purpose l prefer to employan auxiliary or supplemental supply-tank n', which is supplied from themain tank N and delivers its contents into the inner end of the trough Aand a cut-off or governing device whichauto-A matically maintains thedesired predetermined small quantity of milk in the auxiliary tank. Themain tank is supported above the level of the auxiliary tank by aplatform or pedestal 0, which rests upon the cover L.

The auxiliary tank is connected with or carried by a counterbalancingdevice, such as a springp, so that said tank is yieldingly su pportedand allowed to descend under the Wight of the milk entering the same andis elevated by the spring as the tank becomes lighter by the dischargeof the milk. The spring p is attached at its upper end to a bracket p',secured to the main tank N, andy the auxiliary tank is suspended fromthe spring p by means of a rigid handle or bail n. The auxiliary tank isprovided in its bottom with a depending discharge-spout q, which slidesvertically in an opening formed in the cover L and is arranged directlyabove the inlet end of the trough A, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 3.

r is the discharge-spout of the main tank( N, which passes looselythrough an opening formed in the cover of the auxiliary tank, as mostclearly shown in Figs. 5 and 6, so that this tank is free to rise andfall with reference to said spout. In the Vertical portion of the spoutr is arranged a sliding valve t, which controls the fiow of the milkthrough the spout. The stem of this valve is connected with the rigidhandle or bail n of the auxiliary tank, whereby the valve is opened andclosed by the vertical movements of said Vhen the auxiliary tank Ndescends IOO ICS

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under the increasing weight of the incoming milk, the valve t isgradually and automatically closed until the proper predeterminedquantity of milk has been supplied to said tank, when the`further supplythereto is shut off. As the auxiliary tank becomes lighter by thedischarge of the milk therefrom it is elevated by the reaction of itscounterbalancing-spring p, thereby causing the valve t to be opened andallowing the milk to flow from the main into the auxiliary tank untilthe latter is again supplied to the normal level, when the supply isagain shut off. The auxiliary tank in conjunction with the cuto valve t,thus acts as a governor which keeps the milk at the desired low level inthe auxiliary tank.

'U is a thermometer depending from the cover of the spiral trough intothe milk in the latter at a point near the dam m, and o is a Windowthrough which the level of the liquid in the trough can be observed.

In the use of the apparatus water is supplied to the chamber C, and itstemperature is raised to the proper degree by the heaters F. The milkentering the central or inlet portion of the inclined trough A flowsslowly through the several windings of the trough and is uniformlyheated by contact with the bottom and the hollow side Walls of thetrough, its temperature being gradually raised as it approaches thedischarge end of the trough, so that by the time it reaches thedischargevalve a of the trough it is heated to the proper point toinsure the destruction of all diseasegerms contained in the same, whilecurdling or souring of the milk is prevented by the graduation of theheat from the inlet toward the outlet end of the trough. The heating ofthe milk to the required high temperature causes steam to be generatedin the trough above the surface of the milk, and this steam furnishesthe necessary moisture to prevent the formation of scum on the milk. Itwill be observed that the milk is exposed to a heating medium at itstop, bottom, and sides,

and it can therefore be heated to the desired temperature in acomparatively-short space of time and with an economical use of heat. Byextending the chimney G through the water-feeding pipe K the water isalso heated by this chimney.

The bent or spiral form of the milk-trough while providing acomparatively-long course for the milk within a small compass has nocavities or pockets in which impurities are liable to lodge, butpresents only dat and curved surfaces which are easy of access and canbe thoroughly and quickly cleaned. By making the spiral trough A and thebottom plate D separate from the casing D these parts can be readilytaken apart to facilitate the cleaning of the apparatus.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination with a bottom plate, of acasing resting loosely on said bottom plate and provided near its lowerend with a diaphragm, the space between said bottom plate and saiddiaphragm forming a heating-chamber, a milk-vat supported in said casingand having its bottom arranged at a distance from said diaphragm to forman intervening water-chamber, and a removable cover applied to the topof said vat and casing, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination'with a heating-chamber and a milk trough or vatarranged above the same, of a water-chamber interposed between saidheating-chamber and said trough and having a central feed-pipe whichextends above said vat, and an upright chimney extending upwardly fromsaid heating-chamber through said feed-pipe and separated from thelatter by an intervening water-space, substantially as set forth. l

3. The combination with a bent or spiral milk-trough having an inlet andan outlet at opposite ends thereof, of a heating-chamber arrangedunderneath said trough, and a heater applied to the portion of saidheatingchamber arranged under the outlet portion of said trough,substantially as set forth.

4. The combination with a main supply-` tank having alaterally-projecting dischargepipe provided with a vertical spout whichextends above and below said pipe, of a pistonvalve sliding in saidverticalspout, adapted to cover or uncover the outer end of said pipe,

and provided with an upwardly-extending stem, a vertically-movable tankarranged under the discharge-spout of the main tank and having a bailwhich is connected with the stem of said valve, and a suspensionspringconnecting said bail with said main tank, substantially as set forth.

Witness my hand this 18th dayof July, 1899.

FRANK V. GIFFORD.

Witnesses:

CARL F. GEYER, E. R. DEAN.

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